Charlotte Transit

Millions in road money helps shore up support for expanded rail and bus lines; towns could repave and extend streets, build sidewalks, install streetlights — and boost spending on "parks, public safety, you name it" — in Mecklenburg County towns.

The Charlotte City Council on Monday voted 10-1 to buy freight rail tracks from Norfolk Southern. It also voted to ask state lawmakers for permission to place a 1-cent sales tax increase on the November 2025 ballot.

A new Mecklenburg County sales tax to fund city and county rails, roads and buses is up for a city council vote Tuesday night. But while the Charlotte Area Transit System's budget has reached a record high, ridership remains far below pre-pandemic levels. Still, some believe the city needs to continue investing in buses to bring commuters back to public transit.

Because the city of Charlotte expects to have half as much new tax money for trains from a proposed one-cent sales tax, it told town managers this spring that it can’t afford to build the $6 billion Silver Line light rail from uptown to Matthews. The city said it would build bus rapid transit instead.

On this week's Transit Time, we answered frequently asked questions about Charlotte's revised transit plan, including what is it, what it would do, how much it would cost and what happens from here.

Cornelius town commissioners voted unanimously Monday night for a resolution in support of a proposed one-cent sales tax that would fund transportation and transit throughout Mecklenburg County. But while big transit projects like the long-delayed Red Line commuter rail and the Silver Line have gotten the most attention, Cornelius town manager Andrew Grant praised the fact that the plan would spend roughly half the new tax money on roads.

With less money for trains, Charlotte won't be able afford to build all the new train lines it had envisioned. The original transit plan called for building the Red Line to Lake Norman; extending the Blue Line to Ballantyne; expanding the Gold Line streetcar; and building the biggest project, the Silver Line from the airport to Matthews.

The Charlotte City Council is scheduled to vote Sept. 9 on buying the O Line freight tracks from Norfolk Southern.

The city of Charlotte is launching an effort to build support for a new transit authority to run the region's public transportation system, and a new one-cent sales tax increase to pay for transportation improvements. But the town of Matthews appears to be dead-set against the plan, and voted Monday night to oppose designs that call for them to get a bus line instead of a new light rail.

Charlotte is hoping to turn over management of its bus system, streetcar and light-rail line to a new transit authority.